China: Alleged smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing ‘confesses’
Lai Changxing, who ran one of China’s biggest smuggling rings, “confessed” to his crime and will be prosecuted in China.
An alleged Chinese smuggling kingpin, Lai Changxing, has “confessed” to his crimes and is being handed over to prosecutors, the AFP reported.
Lai was deported from Canada after a 12-year legal battle after being accused of running a smuggling ring in the Fujian Province, that moved products worth an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion in the 1990s, in what state media said could be the largest economic crime since the Communists’ rise in 1949, The New York Times reported. He is accused of smuggling goods including cars, cigarettes and oil and bribing officials, the BBC reported.
Read more at GlobalPost: China arrests its top fugitive, Lai Changxing, after Canada deports him
"Lai and other members of the smuggling gang confessed to the smuggling and bribery crimes they have committed," Xinhua news agency reported.
The smuggling ring leader fled to Canada in 1999 and argued he would face torture and execution in China, the BBC reported. Lai was handed over to China in July after he was promised he wouldn’t be executed, and faces prosecution in the southeastern city Xiamen after the investigation is closed.
Hundreds of customs agents, police officers and government officials were implicated in the case, the BBC reported. About 300 were punished for their involvement and at least two were executed.
Read more at GlobalPost: South African woman caught smuggling drugs in her dreadlocks (VIDEO)
The China Central Television released a video of Lai signing a document while still in handcuffs and flanked by uniformed police before being loaded into an armored van, the AFP reported.
The tug of war over Lai between Canada and China has strained Sino-Canadian relations over the years. Usually Canada forbids the extradition of fugitives to countries where they could face the death penalty, the BBC reported.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.